Kaiji 2
Kaiji 2 (カイジ2 人生奪回ゲーム, Kaiji 2 Jinsei Dakkai Gēmu, lit. Kaiji 2: Life Recovery Game) is a 2011 Japanese live-action film based on Tobaku Hakairoku Kaiji, the second part of the manga series Kaiji, written and illustrated by Nobuyuki Fukumoto. It is the second film of a trilogy directed by Tōya Satō and premiered in Japan on November 5, 2011. It was followed by Kaiji: Final Game released in 2020.
Kaiji 2 | |
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Film poster | |
Directed by |
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Produced by |
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Written by | Nobuyuki Fukumoto Junya Yamazaki Sachiko Ōguchi |
Based on | Tobaku Hakairoku Kaiji by Nobuyuki Fukumoto |
Starring | |
Music by | Yugo Kanno |
Cinematography | Osamu Fujiishi |
Edited by | Mototaka Kusakabe |
Production company | AX-ON |
Distributed by | Toho |
Release date |
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Running time | 133 minutes |
Country | Japan |
Language | Japanese |
Box office | $21.1 million |
Cast
- Tatsuya Fujiwara as Kaiji Itō
- Yūsuke Iseya as Seiya Ichijō
- Yuriko Yoshitaka as Hiromi Ishida
- Katsuhisa Namase as Kōtarō Sakazaki
- Teruyuki Kagawa as Yukio Tonegawa
- Suzuki Matsuo as Taro Ōtsuki
- Hayato Kakizawa as Murakami
- Ken Mitsuishi as Kōji Ishida
- Tarō Yamamoto as Jōji Funai
- Kyūsaku Shimada as Yoshihiro Kurosaki
Release
Kaiji 2 was announced in November 2009.[1] Kaiji 2 was theatrically released on November 5, 2011 in Japan.[2] It was released on Blu-ray and DVD on April 25, 2012.[3][4]
The film was screened at the anime convention AM² in Anaheim, California in June 2012.[5]
Reception
Box office
Kaiji 2 was Japan's nineteenth highest-grossing film of 2011, earning ¥1.61 billion ($21 million ) at the Japanese box office that year.[6][7] The film also grossed $68,175 overseas in Singapore,[8] bringing the film's international total gross to $21,068,175.
Critical reception
In a review of Kaiji 2, Maggie Lee of The Hollywood Reporter felt little suspense and satisfaction with the characters and the actors' performance. She wrote that the cast "cranks up their acting" but due their "cardboard" roles they "have no hopes of being more than that". Lee expressed no excitement in the "character reversals", pointing out that they have become quite common in the survival game genre, with works like Liar Game or The Incite Mill, stating "no matter how many times the key persons in Kaiji switch their allegiances, it no longer surprises." Nevertheless, Lee praised the camera movements, music and sound levels, ultimately calling the film a "geeky but still entertaining sequel to the crowd-pleasing "gambling" genre."[9]
References
- Loo, Egan (November 18, 2009). "Kaiji's Live-Action Film Gets Sequel Green-Lit in 2011". Anime News Network. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
- "KAIJI 2". Nippon Television. Archived from the original on August 14, 2018. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
- カイジ2 人生奪回ゲーム (in Japanese). VAP. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
- カイジ2 人生奪回ゲーム (通常版) (in Japanese). VAP. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
- Loo, Egan (March 3, 2012). "California's AM2 to Host Kaiji 2 Film's US Premiere". Anime News Network. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
- "2011". Eiren. Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
- "Kaiji 2: The Ultimate Gambler". Toho Kingdom. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
- "Kaiji 2: The Ultimate Gambler (2011)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
- Lee, Maggie (December 27, 2011). "Kaiji 2: Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
External links
- Official website (in Japanese)
- VAP official website (in Japanese)
- Nippon TV English official website
- Kaiji 2: Jinsei dakkai gêmu at IMDb
- Kaiji 2 - Jinsei Dakkai Game (film) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia